I wouldn't call it a growing problem, the problem has grown and been a problem for probably over a decade now.

An issue of the Buddleja plant is, its a major attraction to butterlies, so some people don't want to get rid of them so harshly. I'm a gardener at Huddersfield Rail Station, the station is over run with Buddleja, and whilst we keep the gardens semi clear of them, there is nothing we can do long term, as Network Rail is not removing them from the track side, so when they flower and seed, its back to square one.
Also, it is true, the generic weedkiller doesn't work on fully grown Buddleja, and it only takes Buddleja a couple of weeks to a month to grow to a size that you don't want it to be at. From what I can tell from living near weedkilling zones, it works on Buddlejas that have just formed, but as soon as they grow to a large size, it doesn't seem to affect them beyond greying leaves and maybe killing a small section of it.

How do you solve a problem like Buddleja? Honestly, at this stage you can't. Fix one area, the seeds of a plant upwind will get caught in the slipstream caused by a passing train, and could carry it many hundreds of metres up the line. You clear one area, it'll be quickly reseeded ready for next season. You have to eradicate every single one within the same season, they grow and seed again so fast, you can't control it. It's something that needed to be dealt with immediately after it became an issue. they didn't, now the railways, and nearby buildings will suffer for probably a long long time.
Honestly, if Network Rail gave me clearance, I'd go and wipe the Buddleja off the tracks around Huddersfield too, just so i can bloody do the gardening without having to remove a new Buddleja sprout every friday.

So, as Redirect Left has said, once weeds grow over a certain size, there is not much that Weedkiller can really do against this. This is where it is required for people to go in and Physically cut out all the weeds and clear the area, to reduce the chance of these growing back. Once this has been done, any weeds that do grow in this area can be better managed by a Weedkilling train.

Replacing the line/banksides with a hard surface is a potential solution, but all that will eventually happen is cracks will form and weeds will grow through them, so whilst it may work for a while, it will still eventually lead to the same result.

Another issue with Weed management is that modern Weedkiller is far more restricted to what it was 20 years ago, meaning that some of the more powerful stuff is banned, due to potential health risks (and rightly so if it has such an impact). One of the main weedkillers in use at the moment, is under regular review by the European Union as to whether it will be allowed to continue being used. It recently had it's permitted use extended 5 years, but after that, there is a potential that too may be banned.

So, a few days ago, Transport For Wales (TfW from now on) took over the Wales & Borders franchise, already people are complaining about there not being any new trains yet, or even trains in TfW Rail livery - there are about 4 in TfW livery. I tried using their Tickets app with VoiceOver (text to speech) and found the app inaccessible. What a start to a new franchise!

So, no more Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) as well then ? They authorize road buildings etc. as well ?

Transport for Wales exists as two entities, as far as I can tell.
Transport for Wales Rail - This is the train operating company who was awarded the Wales & Borders franchise which commenced a few days ago, it's operated by KeolisAmey Wales, which are two companies, Keolis & Amey working together.
Transport for Wales - Not for profit company without share capital which is owned entirely by the Welsh Government. From what I can tell, their main role since creation in 2016 has been to smoothen the transfer of the above franchise to the above named new company, and placing their own brand (Transport for Wales) in place of the typical operator based branding (ie: Virgin Trains). According to their own 'what we do' page, they provide 'Support & Expertise to the Welsh Goverments transport projects.'. So its rather vague as to wether they take a leading role in the decisions, or just act as advisors.

So, no more Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) as well then ? They authorize road buildings etc. as well ?

Transport for Wales exists as two entities, as far as I can tell.
Transport for Wales Rail - This is the train operating company who was awarded the Wales & Borders franchise which commenced a few days ago, it's operated by KeolisAmey Wales, which are two companies, Keolis & Amey working together.
Transport for Wales - Not for profit company without share capital which is owned entirely by the Welsh Government. From what I can tell, their main role since creation in 2016 has been to smoothen the transfer of the above franchise to the above named new company, and placing their own brand (Transport for Wales) in place of the typical operator based branding (ie: Virgin Trains). According to their own 'what we do' page, they provide 'Support & Expertise to the Welsh Goverments transport projects.'. So its rather vague as to wether they take a leading role in the decisions, or just act as advisors.

Transport for Wales (the non-profit) is there to oversee major public transport infrastructure changes - similar to that of the DfT/Transport Scotland. It’s current remit is solely trains and delivering the South Wales Metro, and the North East Wales “Metro”.

A list of the UKs worst stations in terms of punctuality have been revealed, and its bad news if you're a regular at Manchester Oxford Road or York, with over 60% of services cancelled or late since the year began.

So an Azuma/IEP on trial on the GWR main line has brought 500m of the catenary that was built for it down and caused major disruption. On the East Coast introduction is delayed because of issues running the trains north of York and the 91s are getting a splendid stay of execution.

What gives with these new trains...it would be interesting to know if previous introductions (APT apart) were as difficult...I suspect not. What gives with these trains?

I'm just trying to think of an example as problematic as this... Probably the only examples are the 458 (in it's original form) and the 175, each having problems with the on board computer, and randomly rolling away. Difference is, they were on the terms that once Alstom gave them the train it was their problem.
Note: The class 458/0 became one of the most reliable trains in Britain just before they were converted into 458/5. A bad start does mean a bad life for the train.

All trains have teething problems. The issue is these are the first properly new intercity trains we’ve had in some years and we’ve taken massive strides forward in terms of tech since then. Chuck it all together and...

Kevo00 wrote:So an Azuma/IEP on trial on the GWR main line has brought 500m of the catenary that was built for it down and caused major disruption. On the East Coast introduction is delayed because of issues running the trains north of York and the 91s are getting a splendid stay of execution.

What gives with these new trains...it would be interesting to know if previous introductions (APT apart) were as difficult...I suspect not. What gives with these trains?

To be slightly pedantic, it was the OHLE erected for Heathrow Express it tore down. That's why it was so bad because that OHLE is on headspans meaning one coming down brings down all lines, something that is less likely with traditional portal structures.

I'm a bit bummed by the lack of English-language news on this, but in my local neighbourhood Barkarbystaden in north Stockholm, yesterday we opened the world's first (or so they say) driverless bus route running on public roads. It's part of the Stockholm public transport system, included in the regular fare.
Source (swe):https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/stock ... nde-bussar

Self-employed buses have been tested earlier this year on a short distance in Kista. The test was completed this summer and the buses were moved to Barkarbystaden where bus line 549 today is opened today by proud politicians.

The buses will be in regular SL traffic a short distance in the Barkarbystaden between new residential neighborhoods, Herrestaskolan and Stora Torget.

The buses are electrically powered and will go at a speed of 12-15 km/h. It is a slow journey, but for safety there is a bus host on board that can intervene using a portable control panel if bus automation would not work.

Not completely self-drivingAccording to the operator Nobina, the self-propelled buses performed well during the test period January to June. But when SVT went on a test tour last winter, bus drivers had to solve several problems during the short distance between Victoria Tower and Kista Galleria. It was about cars that stood a bit too far out of the carriageway, ice spots and people who stood too close.

Inauguration todayNow it's time to see how today's inauguration of buses in regular traffic will go. Bus hosts will be on board the three buses, each of which accommodates twelve passengers.

Barkarbystaden is Northern Europe's largest urban development area, where roads and other infrastructure are being built. This means that the roads can be adapted for the concept of self-propelled buses.